Why Cliff Lee Reminds Me of Brett Favre

...and no, not the whole "I'm retired... wait, no I'm not... wait, yeah I am... wait, ok, no..." thing. You'll see what I mean in a minute; just allow me to develop my point.

Last week, a reputable Seattle blogger with the U.S.S. Mariner community speculated that the Mariners will probably want to trade Cliff Lee in the next few weeks. He went on to examine all the possible teams that could complete the deal. He formulated that, in his opinion, the Twins were the best option in regard to need and the depth of players they could give up. It seems as if a lot of other folks think the same thing. (I heard that Buster Olney from ESPN agreed, but I can't read his article about it because I refuse to pay to be an "insider." Good grief, ESPN makes enough money -- they have to be generating a ton of revenue just on the ads on their site -- they don't need to relieve me of mine.)

Let me just say that I sincerely doubt Cliff Lee will come here in real life. For various reasons, it just doesn't add up in my opinion. But, let's go with it so I can eventually get to my point.

I love pitching. I love pitchers. I especially love good pitchers. Good pitchers are leaders. They alone set the pace of the game. Usually, the team goes as its pitcher goes. They are in charge; they earn the win or loss; they are who we talk about when we speak of match-ups. They are the center. There is a reason they stand, above all others, on a mound. They have my undying devotion. Unless they hurt my team. Then I can just as easily despise them. My passion runs both ways.

Would I love to add a true ace to the Twins rotation? Absolutely. Do I have to love him? Not really.

First impressions are very hard to shake. I've spent so many years hating Cliff Lee when he was with the Indians, I would have a hard time letting it go. He was a rival I always hated facing. For one, he was good and very tough to beat. But, for another, he always seemed like an ass. I seem to remember reading that says some cocky stuff. Put him up there with Mark Buerhle, Justin Verlander, and CC Sabathia at the top of the Pitchers I Can't Stand List.

And then there was the time (was it last year or the year before?) he got all in a snit when Carlos Gomez bunted for a base hit off him. Really? I'm not sure I want a crybaby on my team.

So here I am, potentially facing the dilemma of accepting a man I loathe to a team I love. I know he could be a great help, and obviously I would want him to do well, you know, for the good of the team. But, I would find it very, very hard to actually root for him.

I'd be quite like many of the rabid, die-hard Vikings fans I know who struggled with welcoming Brett Favre, a man they hated for years. Now I finally understand what they were going through.

Short Notes - Jan. 11

Just a few quick thoughts on the Twins and baseball news over the past week.

Goodbye
Bobby Keppel is gone. He was released, and then immediately signed with a Japanese team. Good luck, Bobby. (And with that, that's the second time I initially typed "Booby" instead of "Bobby" and had to fix it. Perhaps my fingers reveal my true feelings of his pitching.)

Hello
To replace Booby (I just figured I'd go with it), the Twins signed Clay Condrey. They have a long tradition of signing pitchers I know nothing about. In fact, it's almost as if it's a contractual obligation. And with this, they've fulfilled their commitment. Just so long as it's not another Livan Hernandez/Ramon Ortiz/Sidney Ponson situation, I'll be ok with it. Welcome Clay.

Undies in a Bunch -- or Not
Right after Keppel got the axe, a rumor (which turned out to be true -- so it was a trumor {wow, sorry, I'm really tired, so lame jokes seem really hilarious to me right now}) started that the Twins offered a deal to Jarrod Washburn. A lof of the bloggers I know of aren't really a fan of that idea. I think it's a pretty silly offer; we've already got three mediocre lefties (Liriano, Perkins, Duensing), and they don't make that much money. Doesn't matter; he turned it down.

Cardinals News
Hey, the Cardinals signed Matt Holliday to a monster contract. This is significant not only because I'm a Holliday fan, and I kind of like the Cardinals (if I had to pick a NL team, it'd be the Cardinals), but also it be a blueprint for a potential Joe Mauer contract. Super-size it for Joey.

Speaking of the Cardinals
Ok, Mark McGwire admitted to steriod use. This is not a surprise, but it is sad. Speculation is speculation, and therefore, there's always a fine thread of hope that it's not real. But admission is real. I'm glad the truth is out; I do wish he'd admitted it sooner. But I'm still a fan of his, and I'm neither qualified to nor interested in judging him on this matter. 

Podcast Update
I've got a few more podcasts to add to my previous list.

• Travistalks Weekly Minnesota Sports - hosted by Travis Aune
• Baseball Prospectus Radio - hosted by Will Carroll
• And a special podcast, from my Twitter friend Lephio, Baseball e Musica from Italy. So if you know Italian, or want to learn it, check it out.
  

Nuts!

This is me. At least as it relates to Johan Santana.

Ok, ok, I admit that, generally speaking, I'm a bit nuts. But I'm going over the top reading the rumors about Johan. I'm beginning to worry about myself. I can't help it.

The crazy thing is: I don't even have a strong opinion one way or another about the outcome. Of course, I would love it if the Twins would sign him for another 10 years, and he could retire a Twin. But I know that's unreasonable, so I want the best deal the Twins can get. And if he stays another season, and then goes in free agency, I'll at least be glad I have the chance to appreciate him one more year. I'm surprisingly willing to accept any outcome.

But I can't stop thinking about it. I just spent three days in a training class, and every time the instructor would help that one student who caught on slower than the rest of us, I would check out LaVelle's blog to see if anything was new. I was just this side of obsessed.

And why? I can't do anything about it, so why worry? I'm completely calm about driving 3 1/2 hours in the snow to get home (what should have been a 45 minute drive), but I fret about Johan.

Which proves it's the not knowing that I can't stand. But I sincerely hope that Mr. Smith does not feel the same way. He can't do something just to do something -- just to get it over with. Of course, he's smart enough to know that -- he doesn't need me to tell him that.

So all I can do is wait and try not to get too nuts. I guess if life makes you nuts, make peanut butter?